Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Cuts Stake in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its position in Manulife Financial Co. (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,373,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 100,600 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.30% of Manulife Financial worth $143,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Manulife Financial by 750.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 9,910,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,990,000 after purchasing an additional 8,745,071 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its position in Manulife Financial by 57.9% in the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 23,307,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $582,444,000 after buying an additional 8,548,114 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Manulife Financial by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 37,066,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $823,074,000 after acquiring an additional 7,766,870 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Manulife Financial by 103.1% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,686,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $367,025,000 after acquiring an additional 7,456,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Manulife Financial by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 20,710,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $459,108,000 after acquiring an additional 6,663,997 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 52.56% of the company’s stock.

Manulife Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MFC opened at $28.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.59. The company has a market capitalization of $51.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.08. Manulife Financial Co. has a 1-year low of $17.07 and a 1-year high of $28.97.

Manulife Financial (NYSE:MFC) (TSE:MFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $9.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.95 billion. Manulife Financial had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 16.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Manulife Financial Co. will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Manulife Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. Manulife Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays initiated coverage on Manulife Financial in a report on Thursday, September 5th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Manulife Financial from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Manulife Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Manulife Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.67.

Manulife Financial Company Profile

Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in the United States, Canada, Asia, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; and Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment offers investment advice and solutions to retirement, retail, and institutional clients through multiple distribution channels, including agents and brokers affiliated with the company, independent securities brokerage firms and financial advisors pension plan consultants, and banks.